CyberPatriot, the Air Force Association's National Youth Cyber Education Program , is hosting Round 1 of their National Competition this weekend. Middle and High School teams have six hours to search for cybersecurity vulnerabilities and secure the system through a virtual image. Teams scores from the first two competition rounds will determine their placement in one of three tiers for the State Rounds. After the State Round, top teams will advance to the Semifinals. Those advancing from the Semifinals will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Baltimore, Maryland where they will compete in the National Finals. Winners of the National Finals will receive scholarship grants.

My son was lucky enough to be selected as one of sixteen students from across the country to attend LLCipher a few years ago. Lincoln Laboratory offers this FREE summer workshop for high school students who are interested in cybersecurity and math. Students will learn how to build a secure encryption scheme and digital signature.

Help a team of hackers and cyber security professionals track down the bad guys that have hacked their system. This is the type of real-world scenario you'll experience when you attend 1NTERRUPT Cybersecurity Program held at Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI on January 27, 2018 from 8:30 am -3:00 pm. The program is free and offered to participates ages 13-22 who are interested in a hands-on opportunity to learning about hacking for good.

CyberPatriot, a program created by the US Air Force, is a youth cyber education program and cyber defense competition offering middle school and high school divisions. The program was created to increase interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education and cyber security. The first cyber defense competition was held in 2009 with just eight teams in Florida, since then, it has grown to over 4,400 teams across the United States.

Teams compete online and are scored on how well they identify vulnerabilities in a simulated virtual network. Winners of the online competitions are invited to attend the, all expense paid, National Finals Competition in Baltimore, Maryland held in April 2018 and winners receive national recognition and are awarded scholarships.

Each team consists of a coach and 2-6 competitors (up to 5 competitors, 1 alternate) and an optional team mentor and/or assistant. On-line training materials are provided.

Teams need to be registered by October 4, 2017, there is a fee of $205 per team (to increase the number of females in STEM, there is no charge for all female teams)

This Saturday, 1NTERRUPT, will be hosting a free hands-on cyber security program for students throughout Massachusetts, ages 14-22, on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Yesterday, I had the privilege of chatting with Marc Blackmer the founder of 1NTERRUPT, the Worcester based non-profit organization with a passionate all-volunteer team of IT and cyber security professionals and educators. Their goal is to demystify and make cyber security education more accessible. This is the fourth year this event will be held in Worcester, growing from 16 students in the first year to reaching full capacity of 70 students this year. Ryan Canuel, co-founder and CEO, of Petricore Games will be the key note speaker at the event. ​1NTERRUPT is not just another day of school, students are introduced to the concepts of cyber security through real-world challenges from the perspective a white-hat hacker. The first part of the day will focus on ethics, web development, network security and hardware. The second part of the day, teams will be forged where students work together in break out sessions and focus on real world problem solving. The students will complete a treasure hunt where they will need to overcome a series of difficult technical hurdles. It is important to remember the quote from Albert Einstein "We can not solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them". Students will work together using offensive techniques in a simulated environment to defeat the bad guys that hacked into the network and take back control.

Want to see in more detail what the program is about? Check out the YouTube video from the 2015 event.

Author

Welcome! I'm Debbi and I'm so glad you're here! As a mom of two boys I found it difficult to find resources on STEM programs for my kids. I spent hours researching which resulted in my kids having some amazing STEM opportunities. I want to share information with other families. I try to focus on free or low-cost events so that opportunities are available to children no matter their family's income level.

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